"National Manpower Development Act of 2001." Rationale: The absence of a national skills development plan has harmful effects on the economy because of the difficulty in dove-tailing training programs of individual agencies with the development needs of the people, industries and enterprises in the regions. For a training program to be meaningful, one should examine an area's profile so that the needs of the people, industries and enterprises at the regional, provincial, municipal and congressional levels can be addressed appropriately. The proposed amendments to the Labor Code will give new direction to the implementation of the National Skills Training Development Plan through closer supervision, coordination and monitoring of all trainiing activities.